Average User Rating

The GoodThe Nokia Lumia 630 has fun, colourful, interchangeable cases, its Windows Phone 8.1 software is easy to use and Nokia's bundled apps come in handy.

The BadThe Windows Phone app store still rarely receives new apps at the same time as Android or iOS, the screen is lower resolution than the similarly-priced Moto G, the camera doesn't particularly impress and it doesn't have 4G.

The Bottom LineThe Nokia Lumia 630 is a cheap, vibrant alternative to Android and its Windows Phone 8.1 software is easy to use. The app store is still a problem though -- if you like getting new releases when your Android and iOS-toting friends do, a budget Android phone like the Moto G is still the way to go.

The Motorola Moto G is undoubtedly the darling of the budget smartphone world, thanks to its mid-range specs and bottom-end price. It's not the only option to go for though -- particularly if you're not keen on Android's sometimes complicated way of doing things.

If you're after something a little different but still don't want to break the bank, cast your eye over the Nokia Lumia 630. It's a 4.5-inch phone, packing a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, a 5-megapixel camera and the latest Windows Phone 8.1 software, complete with its simplistic live tile interface. It also comes in colours bright enough to burn straight through your retinas.

You can pick the phone up now in the UK for free on contracts starting at £8.50 per month, or SIM-free for £129 from Nokia. It's available in Australia for AU$249, and will soon be available in the US. Its price puts it squarely up against the Moto G however, which is a dangerous place to be. So does the fun, vibrant Windows Phone 8.1 software make it a worthy option?

Neither the 630 or Moto G have 4G LTE, although both phones do have slightly more expensive 4G LTE-enabled siblings. In Nokia's case, that's the Lumia 635, which will be available globally later this month.

Design

Like most of Nokia's Lumia phones, it's the bright colours that really make the 630 stand out. The back cover is formed from a single piece of plastic that bends round to meet the glass front. You can get covers in a luminous yellow -- with a green sheen on the surrounding plastic -- a shiny orange and a more sensible matte green. You can also get it in black, but there's just no fun in that at all.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

The cases are removable, so you can swap the colour to match your outfit -- although I don't want to see the outfit that matches luminous yellowy-green -- or just pop on a new one when your old one gets a bit battered. The cases are made from a sturdy plastic so it certainly feels like it could take a few knocks and bumps. The toughened Gorilla Glass 3 screen should keep a good deal of scratches at bay too.

It's a good job the back of the phone looks so fun as the front is simply a plain slab of black glass, broken only at the top by a little sliver where the speaker sits. It measures 129mm long and 67mm wide, so you can use it in one hand -- not like its enormous big brother, the Lumia 1520. Around the sides are the volume and power buttons, a 3.5mm headphone jack sits on the top, while the micro-USB port -- for charging and data transfer -- can be found on the bottom.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Beneath the back cover is the micro-SIM card slot, the battery (which I'll come to later) and a microSD card slot. That last one is an important addition as the 630 only comes with 8GB of storage as standard. While that's more than enough for Twitter and Facebook apps and saving your snaps, if you want to keep video stored locally or download huge apps like Asphalt 8, you'll quickly find yourself running out of space.

Display

The 4.5-inch display has an 854x480-pixel resolution, giving a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch (ppi). It has the same size screen as the Moto G, but the G has a higher resolution, giving a much more impressive pixel density of 326ppi. Side by side, the Moto G is noticeably sharper, particularly when you look at small text.

Still, it's at least sharp enough for your essential networking and the big, colourful live tiles that make up the Windows Phone 8.1 homescreen look good. It might have a particularly high resolution, but it's bright and it has decent colours too. Streaming "Planet Earth" on Netflix didn't look crisp, but less detail-heavy shows like "Adventure Time" looked fine.

Windows 8.1 software

It's running on the latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8.1. This latest version of the software brings a bunch of new features -- including Cortana, Windows Phone's Siri-rivalling voice assistant -- but not all new features are found on the 630. Cortana, for one, isn't available on any 8.1 device in the UK yet.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Two new features that you will notice pretty quickly are the ability to set photos as background images and the new drop-down notification panel. Although adding photos as a background does help customise the home screen a little, it's not as big a deal as it might sound. The image doesn't change the black backdrop, but rather makes some icons -- the email, People and phone apps, for example -- look transparent, with your photo "behind" them. If you have mostly third-party apps at the top and they're not updated to have transparent icons, you won't be able to see much of your image.

The notifications panel is much more useful though. It's basically the same thing you'll find on Android devices -- swipe down from the top of the screen to pull down a panel showing all your notifications (texts, emails, missed calls etc) and get quick access to critical settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and screen brightness. It's an extremely helpful addition, although one that should have been on board a long time ago.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

The rest of the interface is much the same as it was before -- the scrolling live tiles make up the home screen, with your app list a swipe to the left. It's easy to get to grips with, and features like the People hub -- which combines all of your social networks and email contacts into one place to easily see all updates -- are handy.

As it did with previous Lumias, Nokia has chucked in its own software, including Here Maps, Here Drive and Here Transit. Nokia's mapping software is pretty good and it allows you to download large areas -- such as the entirety of England -- to your phone for offline use. Here Drive gives you turn-by-turn satellite navigation, meaning you won't need to shell out on a TomTom. I had a little trouble though, as the app wouldn't load on my phone, even though it was apparently up to date. I was forced to manually download the app from the online store onto a microSD card, then load that into the phone. It may be just a one-off bug, but it's worth bearing in mind if you have similar troubles.

About The Author

Andrew is a senior editor at CNET and has always been fascinated by tech. When not getting up close and personal with the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.